West Midlands unis to join forces in devolution-inspired collaboration

Link-up aims to boost region’s nursing and industry sector skills.

Three West Midlands universities are joining forces to meet the demands of devolution across the region, putting higher education at the centre of the drive for economic growth.

Birmingham City University, Coventry University and the University of Wolverhampton are today launching the West Midlands Combined Universities (WMCU) initiative – a partnership which brings together the institutions’ applied research and training expertise to develop skills and foster innovation across the region.

The link-up of three like-minded universities will provide the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) with a powerful resource with which it can meet ambitious objectives around skills, employment opportunities and productivity – including the creation of over 500,000 jobs by 2030 and a targeted rate of growth to match that of the London economy.

The WMCU will also support the devolved body’s stated priority of tackling a significant shortage of lower and higher end skills – particularly in the health and advanced manufacturing sectors – in a renewed effort to address the high level of unemployment (9.3%) across the region’s seven metropolitan authorities.

Today’s announcement – which comes ahead of the official launch of the WMCA next month – gives a major vote of confidence for the region’s devolution deal, and signals a significant development in the way higher education institutions can contribute to increasing productivity, wealth creation, and job opportunities across the West Midlands.

Leaders of the three universities anticipate that the WMCU will be able to:

• fill predicted nursing shortages in the region by offering flexible, region-wide courses tailored to WMCA skills needs, and with greater access to facilities;
• close the skills gap in the automotive sector by working with local businesses to provide higher apprenticeships alongside existing degree programmes;
• retrain current industry sectors with new skills and in new technologies, as well as inspire young people to follow careers in these areas;
• stimulate new ideas and innovation in priority sectors to reduce costs and increase productivity;
• bring to bear an unprecedented level of resource and expertise to focus on the challenges facing the West Midlands economy.

Professor Cliff Allan, vice-chancellor of Birmingham City University, said: